


The Assault on Tonya Harding

by GE72



Category: 1994 Winter Olympics - Fandom, I Tonya (2017), Olympics RPF
Genre: 1994 Winter Olympics, Alternate Universe, Gen, Newspaper stories, Tie in to "I Tonya", What-If
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-01
Updated: 2018-02-01
Packaged: 2019-03-12 04:26:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13539687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GE72/pseuds/GE72
Summary: What if it was Tonya Harding, not Nancy Kerrigan, who was assaulted at the 1994 U.S. Figure Skating championships? Who assaulted her and why? What would they have to gain? The answer shouldn't surprise you....but it still might.





	The Assault on Tonya Harding

**Author's Note:**

> This is a "what if?" story that speculates on what could have happened. We all know what did happen, but often we wonder what might have been, or how could it have been different. Most of the names involved in the real case have not been changed. A couple of names have been made up.  
> This is how I thought it could've been, nothing more.

From the Detroit Free Press  
January 7, 1994

The United State Figure Skating championships at Joe Louis Arena was the scene of an act of unimaginable violence, as skater Tonya Harding was assaulted by a man wielding a metal baton.

According to witnesses at Joe Louis Arena, Harding, from Portland, Oregon, had just come off the ice and went into a hallway with her coach Dody Teachman, when a man in his twenties approached Harding and swung a metal baton at her right leg. The baton hit Harding just below the knee cap, causing her to buckle and fall. 

The man tried to hit her again, but security personnel were already in the area, and chased him down the hallway and out of the arena.

Police officers on duty at the arena joined the chase outside and ran after the assailant. The man ran into the plaza between the arena and Cobo Center towards Congress Street. The assailant tried to get across the street but slipped on a patch ice and snow, and was hit by a city bus.

Police and paramedics declared the man dead at the scene.

Inside the arena, Harding was taken to the medical room. Doctors and other officials at the scene said she was visibly shaken but okay. Her right knee was bruised but there was no other physical damage.

Police have not released the name of the assailant pending further investigation…..

Detroit Free Press  
January 9

Competing with a badly bruised right knee, Tonya Harding finished second at the U.S. Figure Skating championships behind winner Nancy Kerrigan.

Harding sustained the injury forty eight hours earlier when a man assaulted her inside the Joe Louis Arena with a metal baton. Police and security officials chased the man out of the arena, where he was killed when he was hit by a city bus.

In her long program, Harding successfully completed a triple toe loop followed by a double axel. She decided not to use the triple axel in the program, which she has successfully completed before in other competitions. Her coach, Dody Teachman, said Harding opted not to use the move in light of her injury.

Both Harding and Kerrigan will be on the U.S. Olympic team that will compete next month in Lillehammer, Norway. The top two finishers in the women’s competition were placed on the team.

As for the assault case, Detroit police chief Benny Napoleon says the investigation is still ongoing. They have identified the assailant but will not release his name until next of kin has been notified.

From The Oregonian  
January 11

More tragedy is engulfing the world of figure skater Tonya Harding as she prepares for the upcoming Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway.

Her ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly, was found murdered in Portland late yesterday evening outside his apartment. He had been shot twice in the chest.

Portland police are investigating the murder of Gillooly say the victim was in an argument in the bar’s parking lot with another man. Witnesses who saw the argument did not get a clear description of the man.

This is coming on the heels of the assault on her during the U.S. Figure Skating championships in Detroit. Harding was hit in the knee by a metal baton, but otherwise came out unscathed. Harding recovered quickly from the assault and finished second in the competition and will compete in the upcoming Olympic Games in Norway.

The man who assaulted her has been identified by Detroit police as Peter Ellwood, a twenty four year old from Hamtramck. Ellwood had a police record, having been arrested for drug possession and misdemeanor assault. Ellwood died while on the run from police after the attack on Harding, being run over by a bus outside the Joe Louis Arena.

Detroit police have not divulged any motive for the assault on Harding.

From the Oregonian  
January 18

Portland police have made an arrest in the murder of Jeff Gillooly, after an attempt was made on the life of the mother of figure skater Tonya Harding at the Clackamas Towne Center Ice Chalet.

Michael Filbert, a twenty two year old from Milwaukee, Oregon, was arrested at the scene after shooting Lavonna Golden in a staircase near the ice arena. The shooting happened while Harding was training on the ice for the upcoming Winter Olympic Games in Norway next month.

Miss Golden was taken to Clackamas Medical Center after the shooting, where she was listed in critical condition as of press time.

Filbert was caught by police trying to leave the Clackamas mall. He had the weapon, a .32 caliber revolver, on him when he was arrested.

Filbert was a former classmate of Harding’s at Milwaukee High School. He was described as being very friendly to her, and some believed he had romantic feelings for her. There had been no signs of any aberrant psychological behavior and had no criminal record.

When asked to comment, Harding said she knew him, adding, “Sometimes he was the only one at school who was friendly to me.”

From the Detroit Free Press  
February 1

Police investigators, as well as FBI agents, have been in contact with figure skaters Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan, in regards to the assault case on Harding earlier this year.

Though investigators have acknowledged that Peter Ellwood of Hamtramck, Michigan, was the assailant against Harding, there has been no clear established motive behind the attack. 

Evidence recently gathered in the investigation has revealed that Ellwood was hired by person or persons unknown, for reasons also unknown.

Investigators have talked to both Harding and Kerrigan to determine possible threats against them, both in the past and the present. It has been recently learned that some threats have been made to Kerrigan since the championships in Detroit. Threats had been made to Harding as well prior to her assault in Detroit.

Benny Napoleon, the Detroit chief of police, says the investigation will be ongoing until to the end. “We will find who put Mr. Ellwood up to this crime,” he said.

He added that the murder of Jeff Gillooly and attempted murder of Lavonna Golden, Harding’s mother, by Filbert, are unrelated to Ellwood’s crimes.

 

From The Washington Post  
February 5

Investigators in the Tonya Harding assault case have spoken with various members of the United States Figure Skating Association in New York and Washington, D.C., as they try to determine the extent of the crime.

Police and FBI investigators have received tips from sources that Peter Ellwood of Hamtramck, Michigan, was hired to assault figure skater Tonya Harding, possibly to keep her from qualifying for the Olympics. The Games begin next weekend in Lillehammer, Norway.

Erin Strauss, a spokesperson for the FBI, says the assault against Harding had crossed into federal jurisdiction. Police and federal investigators have found evidence that Ellwood was paid to assault Harding in Detroit, and the money he had received was wired to him from out of state. The exchange of money for criminal purposes across state lines put the case into federal jurisdiction.

Spokespersons from the Harding camp had no comment on this issue, as Harding is preparing to make the trip to Norway.

 

The Washington Post  
February 12

The Winter Olympics began in Lillehammer, Norway this evening, as sixty seven nations marched into the ski jumping stadium at Lysgardsbakken.

The United States marched in with 147 athletes, including figure skater Tonya Harding, who has been at the center of a controversial assault case.

Harding, from Portland, Oregon, placed second at the U.S. Figure Skating championships in Detroit, after she was assaulted by a man inside Joe Louis Arena. The man, Peter Ellwood, died after being chased by police out into the street.

The FBI are now involved in the investigation, as they have found evidence of criminal solicitation and conspiracy, as Ellwood was paid by person or persons unknown to go after Harding. 

Harding had also been the victim of a stalker, a former classmate from school, who murdered her ex-husband Jeff Gillooly, and shot her mother Lavonna Golden. Police have stated the two cases are unrelated.

Harding is a medal favorite alongside teammate Nancy Kerrigan, and European champion Oksana Baiul of Ukraine.

Washington Post  
February 22

In a shocking development, law enforcement officials have arrested three members of the board from the United States Figure Skating Association for participating in the assault on Tonya Harding during the national championships last month in Detroit.

The three members, whose names have been withheld, were arrested on federal charges of criminal conspiracy and conspiracy to commit a felony. The conspiracy, which resulted in the assault on Harding, was deemed to fall under federal jurisdiction, when it was discovered that money used to pay Peter Ellwood, the man who assaulted Harding, was wired over state lines.

No motive has been established as to why these people had Harding assaulted, but there is speculation that they did not want Harding representing the United States as an Olympic athlete. Harding, though talented as a skater, did not conform to what officials wanted as a figure skating athlete, due to incidents of bad behavior on and off the ice.

Harding or representatives from the U.S. Olympic Committee in Lillehammer for the Olympics, had no comment.

 

The Oregonian  
February 25

A fairy tale for the most unlikeliest of ice princesses came to a storybook ending of sorts as Tonya Harding skated her way to an Olympic silver medal.

Harding wowed the crowd inside Hamar Arena as she landed a combination triple toe loop and triple axel in her long program. It wasn’t a clean program, as she slipped on a double toe loop near the end of her performance. But it was enough to put her ahead of Oksana Baiul of the Ukraine, who fell in the middle of her long program.

Nancy Kerrigan of Boston was awarded the gold medal for her performance, skating to a medley of Neil Diamond songs.

Harding’s silver medal came as a conspiracy came to light in which members of the United State Figure Skating Association had plotted and conspired to keep Harding out of the Olympics by having her assaulted during the national championships in Detroit. Three members of US Figure Skating had been arrested back in the States. 

The head of US Figure Skating, Claire Ferguson, had no comment on the arrests, but did say that both Kerrigan and Harding “represent the best of American figure skating.”

There has been speculation that Ferguson has also been investigated, though it has not been confirmed at this time.

Though it was not the gold medal she had come to Norway for, Harding was brought to tears upon learning she had earned the silver medal. On the medal stand, she accepted hugs from both Kerrigan and Baiul as she was presented with the silver medal.

“This is a dream come true,” Harding said in the press conference afterwards. “I can’t believe this all happened. Everything that has happened to me has brought me to this place. Nobody could ever say this never happened, but it did.”


End file.
